"You punk..."

The corners of Go Hyeon's eyes trembled minutely.

Why was this punk here?

Why?

He must be short-handed just running the Tang Family Leather and Pharmacy that he started in Ganyang.

"There you go again with 'this punk, that punk'. You're really stubborn."

Cheonyeong still smiled brightly.

"You two know each other... ah! Since you both came from Ganyang."

"Ah, that's..."

"I know, how well do I know? We've had many fruitful conversations. Right?"

It was a contradictory reaction.

Go Hyeon, who was seething with anger, was even trembling, while Cheonyeong remained bright.

But anyone could see they were like cats and dogs.

"Ahem, then shall we go in?"

"Please wait a moment, Chief Steward Hwang."

"Pardon?"

"This person is a martial artist. The Tang Family's estate is a martial family."

"..."

"I understand that the competition is the will of the Munjeong Merchant Group Master, but how can a martial family compete with a merchant family?"

"Hmm, that's true."

As Hwang Boin nodded as if in understanding, Go Hyeon suppressed his anger and wore a triumphant smile.

"That will not do. Cancel the competition immediately..."

"Lord Go."

"Pardon?"

"I am also at a loss as this is the first time this has happened, but as I said, it is a recommendation from the provincial lord."

"..."

"I cannot refuse. Also, the Merchant Group Master has already seen the tiger skin that the provincial lord purchased at the last meeting."

Go Hyeon was at a loss for words at the Chief Steward's words.

The provincial lord, a tiger skin from the Tang Family's estate?

Did such a thing happen?

"Did you hear? Now, let's go in. If you have trouble walking, shall I hold your hand?"

"...Th-this..."

"Here."

As Cheonyeong held out his hand, Go Hyeon, who was watching, even twitched his nose and slapped it away fiercely.

Jja-ak!

"Hmph! Who are you calling an old man!"

Cheonyeong let out a small laugh at the back of Go Hyeon, who was striding away.

While being an old man...

Right, walk in proudly. Because when you come out, your legs will be trembling so much you won't be able to walk properly.

"Now, shall we go? Chief Steward Hwang?"

"Let's."

Hwang Boin tilted his head at the sight of the two, who looked like cats and dogs no matter how he looked at them, and led the way.

As they went inside, a small room for receiving guests appeared, and an upright-looking old man was savoring the steaming tea.

It was the Munjeong Merchant Group Master, Woo Huigwan.

"Go Hyeon of Ganyang pays his respects to the Merchant Group Master."

"I am Cheonyeong, the Family Head of the Tang Family's estate."

As expected, their attitudes were contradictory.

Unlike Go Hyeon, who had bent his waist in half, Cheonyeong only bowed his head slightly in greeting.

"Hmph."

Woo Huigwan, who had put down his teacup at the sight of the two, looked at Cheonyeong with an interested expression.

"So you are the Family Head of the Tang Family's estate."

"Has the rumor already spread this far? It's faster than I thought."

Cheonyeong, without any sign of nervousness, bantered and sat at Woo Huigwan's table.

Those watching were dumbfounded.

Go Hyeon was still bowing his waist...

"You, come and sit too."

"Pardon? Yes!"

As Woo Huigwan's permission was granted, Go Hyeon rushed over, pulled out a chair without making a sound, and sat down.

And inwardly, he wore a triumphant smile.

Young punk.

Your posture is wrong from the start.

Do you think there's a 'gap' and an 'eul' for no reason?

What kind of person is the Munjeong Merchant Group Master, Woo Huigwan, for you to just nod your head in greeting without any courtesy, and sit in a chair without permission?

Moreover, look at his posture.

Sitting with his legs spread wide and his two clasped hands on the table, isn't it as if it were his own house?

Although he had acted stupidly in front of Chief Steward Hwang, flustered by the unexpected appearance, this fight was his victory.

"Ho ho, a young man who is confident beyond his years."

"It's not a bad thing, is it?"

"Not bad?"

One of Woo Huigwan's eyebrows twitched.

For Go Hyeon, it was an excellent situation.

A recommendation from the provincial lord?

In this situation, it was clear that he would be dismissed as an ill-mannered punk and kicked out before a few words were even exchanged.

"An interesting friend. I heard it hasn't been long since you founded the place called the Tang Family's estate."

"Oh? You seem to have done quite some research."

"It is a basic virtue of a merchant to understand the person they are trading with."

"Indeed, you're different from someone. Should I say you're like a great merchant?"

As Cheonyeong smiled and glanced over, Go Hyeon forcibly suppressed his anger.

"But, you don't know your manners."

"I don't know my manners? This is the first time I've heard such a thing."

"The first time you've heard it? Your actions say otherwise."

"Is that so? Although you, Merchant Group Master, are speaking informally, I am using honorifics... I believe I am showing all the courtesy I should."

"Hah! Did you expect me to use honorifics?"

"To some extent."

"Why did you think so?"

"Because I am the Family Head of the Tang Family's estate."

"The Family Head of the Tang Family's estate?"

"Yes."

"Keuk, keuhat-hat-hat! An interesting friend. Although the martial family and the merchant family walk different paths, do you think the name of the Tang Family's estate can be compared to the name of Munjeong?"

"The scale doesn't matter."

"What?"

"If one is the master of a sect, they should be treated with due respect."

"..."

"Just as you, Master Woo, represent those belonging to Munjeong, I too represent the members of the Tang Family's estate."

Cheonyeong was just calm.

Even though Woo Huigwan was glaring at him, his gaze, which met his directly, was soft, and his voice was calm, not agitated.

"Good, good. But you have made a big mistake."

"A mistake?"

"Why did you ask a favor of the provincial lord, no, a government official? Did you not know that it was a discourtesy to me?"

As Woo Huigwan's voice rose as if scolding, Go Hyeon barely swallowed the laughter that was about to burst out.

It was just as he had expected.

Now, just a little more...

"Hmm, for a merchant, you're saying strange things."

"What did you say?"

"What is the purpose of a merchant?"

"..."

"It's to make a profit, isn't it?"

"So?"

"I too just did my best to make a profit."

"You made an effort? Your best?"

"Of course. If I didn't even ask for a favor, what would be the chances of me being able to meet you, Merchant Group Master? I don't have even a speck of a connection."

Woo Huigwan's eyes narrowed even further at Cheonyeong's confident answer.

"So you used the provincial lord?"

"Of course. Thanks to that, one tiger skin flew away for free. As the price for participating in the merchant group competition that you, Munjeong Merchant Group Master, have opened. But I don't think I paid a high price."

"Not high? With one tiger skin, you could have earned quite a lot of money."

"That's true, but with that one tiger skin, I'll be able to earn much more money in the future."

Cheonyeong's answers were unhindered, but Woo Huigwan's gaze was still sharp.

"You are truly confident."

"Is there a reason not to be?"

"..."

"The deal hasn't been made yet. We haven't formed any particular connection, so there's no need for me to be intimidated."

"Keuk keuk, I see. It was a foolish question."

"I'm glad you think so."

"I'll ask one more thing."

"Please speak."

"Why are you, a martial artist, interfering in the affairs of a merchant family?"

Cheonyeong glanced at Go Hyeon at Woo Huigwan's question.

Should I tell him the truth about this?

That I'm doing business myself because I was pissed off that Go Hyeon was trying to treat me like a dog?

But the Family Head of a sect shouldn't do that.

How could he tattle on the problems he faced to someone else?

"Is it an important question?"

"What did you say?"

"Everyone asks the same question. Why is there a need for a distinction between a merchant family and a martial family in the matter of making a living?"

"...?!"

"I am just doing what is necessary with the abilities I have."

"Necessary... hmm."

Woo Huigwan let out a groan for the first time at Cheonyeong's answer.

A novel answer.

Martial families, their pride was very high, and they often looked down on merchant families.

Should I say they considered the merchant families that followed them to be vulgar?

Even though they themselves lived in luxury with the donations from the merchant families...

It was their characteristic to act like superiors as soon as they gained a little power.

But, the thoughts of this person who was the Family Head of the Tang Family's estate seemed a little different.

"I never thought I'd hear such words from the master of a martial family."

"I'll take that as a compliment."

"But will it be okay? You said you've taken Ganyang, so you'll have to expand your territory to Sichuan soon. Do you think the martial world will tolerate your actions?"

"Hah, I've heard the same thing so many times now, my ears are going to get calluses. Is it that important? Is it a problem I have to worry about?"

"What?"

"Strange. Why is someone in the commercial world worrying about the martial world?"

"..."

"Hah, whether I'm pointed at, or cursed at, that's a problem for me to handle, so let's stop with the useless talk now."

"What did you say? Useless?"

"You said the purpose of merchants is to make a profit."

"W-well, yes."

"Then you can just look at the goods and decide whether to buy them or not. It's not like I'm selling leather with the name of a martial family or a merchant family attached to it."

Woo Huigwan, who was looking at Cheonyeong's sullen expression, was at a loss for words.

For the first time...

To the young Family Head of the Tang Family's estate, who was only seventeen.

But Cheonyeong was sincere.

If he had been the descendant of a martial family, his thoughts might have been different.

Because he would have been educated since childhood, until his ears got calluses, that a warrior should not follow vulgarity.

But he was the son of the Mandeok Estate, and an assassin who would kill anyone for a price.

He had never been interested in the relationship between martial families and merchant families in the first place.

Although he had chosen a martial family, nothing would change.

Action based on need.

If he needed strength, he would use strength, and if he needed money, he would use money.

That was all.

"Hah!"

Woo Huigwan, who had let out a dry laugh without realizing it, looked at Cheonyeong, and Go Hyeon felt as if his insides were burning.

Somehow, the situation was turning strange.

Didn't it seem as if Tang Cheonyeong was leading the current situation?

Moreover, what on earth was that look in Woo Huigwan's eyes?

According to his expectations, he should have been kicked out with a venomous voice by now, but why was he looking at him with such a soft gaze...

"You, you seem to have considerable confidence in the goods you've brought."

"Of course. I am confident that they won't fall behind anywhere."

Cheonyeong was confident.

Leather?

He was confident.

How long had he lived as an assassin?

Because the damn Jingagu had given him a pittance of a commission, he had to do any work that made money.

One of them was selling leather.

Sometimes, for the sake of disguise, he had even skinned the faces of dead people, so skinning an animal was nothing.

It was something a decent warrior would never do.

On the contrary, they would probably curse him as vulgar, saying he was using his martial arts for a trivial matter.

Moreover, since the hunters had not learned martial arts, they could not skin as well as he could.

Of course, the current leather was the work of Baekgang, who had learned while being beaten by him, so there were some clumsy parts, but to others, it could be called top quality.

Besides, this leather was the result of his painstaking efforts to fight the Ganyang Merchant Association, so of course, he was overflowing with confidence.

In other words, my leather is the best.

The leather brought by the Ganyang Merchant Association?

The moment that is taken out, it will be treated like rags.

He could already see Go Hyeon's expression clearly.

"Good. Then let's see the goods first. I'm looking forward to it, since you're so confident."

Woo Huigwan's order was given, and Hwang Boin shouted to the outside.

"Bring in the goods! The Merchant Group Master wishes to see the competition!"

"Yes!"

The door opened, and the leather came in.

The leather, placed on both sides in front of Woo Huigwan.

"Heo-eo!"

"Th-this kind of workmanship?"

The surprise of Woo Huigwan and Hwang Boin was a matter of course.

"...Th-this is."

Go Hyeon's devastated expression, which was beginning to rot, was also an expected part.

With this, the Munjeong Merchant Group... is as good as mine.